COMPOSITE HOCKEY STICK

BATON COMPOSITE POUR LE HOCKEY

English Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A hockey stick which is made of composite construction
to use lower grade and lighter woods and which is characterized by
not only preserving the usual advantages of the conventional hardwood
stick but by also gaining in ease of construction in more balanced
strength, in breaking resistance, and in the damping characteristics.
A hockey stick structurally characterized by comprising, in combination,
a handle including a core of lower grade hardwood reinforced exclusively,
on the opposite lateral sides respectively, by a pair of reinforcing layers
each having stress resistant fibers extending lengthwise of the handle.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY
OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A composite hockey stick comprising a blade portion
and an elongated handle portion including a core and a pair of
reinforcing flat layers, said core extending lengthwise of said
handle portion, being made of a wood material selected from lower
grads hardwoods, and defining a first pair of opposite lateral
flat sides, and a second pair of opposite lateral narrower flat
sides, said handle portion thus having a rectangular cross-
section, said pair of reinforcing flat layers being secured only
against the first pair of opposite lateral flat sides of said core,
said reinforcing layers being formed of strips of plastics having
stress resisting, continuous, straight filaments embedded
exclusively longitudinally therein, said filaments being laid side
by side and independently of one another within said strips of
plastics, said reinforcing layers extending lengthwise of said
handle portions so that said filaments extend solely lengthwise of
said handle portion, said filaments being adhered in prestressed
condition against said first pair of opposite lateral flat sides.
2. A composite hockey stick as defined in claim 1,
wherein said core is made of "ramin" wood.

Description

~S~L6~3
This invention relates to hockey sticks.
The hockey sticks which are now manufaotured and used include
a handle portion which iY made of solid wood selected from the best grad0
h~rd woods to obtain a product of desirable proparties and resistance to
breakage. The co~t of a good hockey stick is therefore relatively high
due to the inherent cost of a satisractory hard wood and, further~ore~ the
hock~ stioks have to be made oversize to have a desirable resistance.
The applicant proposes a hockey stic~ including a handle
portion of composite construction, which has the desired properties including
rasistance to breakage and stiffness without necessarily uslng one of the
best grade hard woods nor incraasing the cross-sectional area of the handle
portion.
It is therefore a general ob~ect of the invention to provide
a hockey stick of satisfactory properties without using one of the best
grade hard wood~.
It is a more specifio ob~ect of the in~ention to provide a
hockey stick having a handle portion of composite construction including
reinforcement layers or strips adherad against the o M o~ite lateral ~ides
theraof to increase the sti~fness and the resistance to breakage.
2~ ~t iB another ob~ect Or ths invention to provide a hockey
stick inclu~ing a composite handle portion formed of a core oP wood material
and reinforcing filaments adherad against the opposite lateral sides of
tha core to impart stiffness and resistance to breakage to a wood of
otherwise non-acceptable stiffne~s.
The above and other ob~ects and advantages of the invention
will be bec~er understood in the light of the following detailed description
of preferred embodiments which are illustrated, by way of example only, in
the accompanying drawing~, wheruins
Figure 1 is a side view of a hockey stick according to a first
embodiment of the invention;
Figure 2 is a front view of the hockey stick shown in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a cro~s-sectional view as seen along line 3-3 in Figura l;
Fi~ure 4 iB a cross-sectional view as show~ in Figure 3 of anothe~
_ 2

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embodiment of the inver.tlon;
Figure 5 is ~ per~pectivo view of the free end of the hockey ~tick
shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3;
Fi~ure 6 i8 a cross-sectional view as seen along line 6b in Figure 1;
Figure 7 i8 a perspective VieN of tne free end of a hoc~ey 6tick handle
according to another embodiment of the invention; and
Figures 8 and 9 are transvarse cross-sectional views of the handles
of hoc~ey sticks according to di~ferent embodiments of the
invention.
The hockey stick illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 include a blade
portion 1, of ar~ conventional shape and material, such as the curved wooden
blade now used by the hockey players. The blade is preferably reinforced
with covering of glass fibre and plastics, as in conventional constructio~.
The hockey stick al80 includes a handle portion 2 having a core 3 of
wood material and a psir of reinforcement layers or strips 4 secured
against the opposite lateral side~ respectively of the core 3.
In the embodiment of Figures 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6, the relnforcement
strips 4 are formed of a fabric woven with glass fibre filaments 5
extending len~thwise of the handle portion and embedded into a lsyer of
plsstica. A band 6, of plastics or elastic material and of a suitable
color, surrounds the handle portion over the ~oint between the lower
end of the reinforcement strips 4 and the oonver,tional glass fibre and
plastic covering of the blade portion 1. Band 6 serves to hide said
~oint and to decorate the hockey stick.
~s shown in Figure 4, the reinforcement ~trips 4 on the opposite
sides of core 3 are formed o~ a single strip 7 bent tightly around the
free end of the handle portion and temporarily retained in tension at
its opposite ends by small nails, tacks 8, staples or the like. The
strip 7 is glued against the core 3 for adhesion thereto. The strip 7
includes gla~s fibres which sxtend lengthwise of the handle portion or
core 3 and woven into a ~abric. After trip 7 firmly adheres to core 3
tacks 8 are removed and the outer end Gf the handle portion is .inished
as shown in Fi~ure 5, whera~n the folded portion of strip 7 has been
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5 ~.6~33
removed and the ed~es of the handla have been bevelled.
Aocording to another embodirr,ent of the inventior., a~ shown
in Fi~ures 7 ~nd 8J the handle portion may include a cora 9 havirg groov~s
lG extending lengthwise and into the,opposite lateral sides the~eof. A
numoer of glass fibres or glass filaments 11 are bunched into each groove 10
and run lengthwise thereof ~mbedded into a plastic which i8 adhered to ths
cora 9.
In the embodirnent illustratod in Figure 9, a series of glass
filaments 11 extend 3ide by side and are embedded into a plastic forming
fl~t strips adhered against the opposite lateral sides of the handle
~ortion.
It rnust be noted that the glass fibre filaments 5 and 11
ma~ prestressed &nd retained in that condition within the plastics
in whlch they are embedded.
The filaments of gla3~ fibres may also be embodied into
a sleeve fitting tightly over the free end of the core 8 or 9 defining
the h~ldle portion.
DLe to the stiffness imparted by the reinforcement layQrs
or strips, the core of tho h~ndle portion may be made of wood material
~elected from lower grade hard woods in~tead of the best hard woods as
s now th~ practlca. FurthermoreJ laminated wood or plywood may be use~
.l5 well as a solid core.
From the results of testa carried out with sticks of different
constructions, a hockey stick according to the present invention achieves
a still better resistance to bre~kage than a conventional overaize stick
~ade of a best grade o~ wood. The oversize hockey sticks may therefore
be advantageously replacad by hockey sticks according to the present
invent on. I
It has bean discovered, for i~stance, that the ra~in wood
~o is particularly suitable to make the core of'the handle portion of a hockey
stic~, according to the lig`n~ness~ rigidity and undistorting propertiss
of that wood importsd from the East~

~ series of t~ts hav~ b~en carried out with ~lass fibre
reinforGed hockey sticks havin~ a core of ramin wood and the rasults
indicate a sharp improvement ~n the resistance to hreakage as co~pared
to hocksy sticks having no glass f~bre reinforcement.
In accordance with the invention, types of stress resistin~
filaments could be used other than glass fibres~ For instancs, ~ilament~
of carbon fibres alone or mixed with glass fibres could be used to
adv~ntage due to the very high tensile strength and stiffness modulus
of graphite fibres.
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